The dragon king festival
by fairytailpirate
Summary: Zeref and Layla were childhood friends. Natsu was their best friend but he no longer remembers. the truth will be revealed in the dragon king festival of x791. Natsu is looking desperately for Lucy as Zeref and Layla face each other again after 400 years.
1. Prologue

**The Dragon King Festival**

**FTP:** What am I doing? Writing a fic for my one and only craxkship? Yes I am! It will be slow since this one is difficult xD and probably I'll post it in my layla rp on tumblr, this might be a one shot or more if I feel like or it gets good response =D Enjoy.

**Lucy:** AND? Your other fics *nudges FTP*

**FTP:** My other fics you say, I'm trying to write a chappy for all of them today, if not I will ty tmr if muse permits promise!

Pairings are: Layzer and nalu mainly

* * *

Layla had been in Crocus for the whole week of the Grand Magic Games, today was the day. The 7th July of x791 was upon them and she shivered in anticipation. Layla didn't know what she would do when she saw that man. It had been too long, four hundred years since she saw them both, her old teammates, one of them had started afresh not remembering anything of his past life. She smiled at the thought that that man was protecting her daughter.

The other one had been lost to the darkness long ago and when he came back, he came as a broken man. That is what she saw when she emerged from the shadows of the pillars at mercurius palace and faced him.

"Layla-sama, the priestess of the dragons, it has been so long," the dark haired man's smile never reached his eyes.

His look was of hope minglined with fear of rejection. Layla's heart gave a sudden pang, she looked down at her feet and with a deep breath walked determine towards the man she had once loved.

"Zeref, are you the Zeref that I love or the dark mage that heralded Earthland's doom long ago?" she asked.

"N-no stay away from me, I don't want to hurt you, not again," Zeref pleaded with her but she did not relent her steps and moved forward even when he crouched forward hiding his face.

The fit was a sudden and violent one and the dark magic catapulted itself in a small radius, but it hit Layla head on. With no effect

"Did you forget? You cannot kill me, my magic nullifies yours, they are opposites," Layla whispered standing right in front of him.

The pair stood there for a moment and looked into each other's eyes. Zeref grasped Layla's hand with his attentively. She allowed it her lips twitching upwards. Their foreheads met the next second. Their faces coming closer each second and…

"LUUUUUUCYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The cry was familiar and made the couple jump apart from each other. It was time and they knew it.

* * *

**FTP:** Here is the oneshot or prologue not sure if I should continue this yet ^^

**Natsu:** REVIEW BELOW!


	2. Chapter 1: Lies to Protect, hurtful lies

Chapter 1: Lies to protect, Lies that hurt

FTP: Glad i took a while to write this, the plot thickened thanks to the revelation of who the girl is and what Jellal said~ Which I shall use to my advantage. Review responses at the end! By this time now I ship IgneelLayla and ZerefLayla...they're sexy and cute crack pairings so you'll prob see some oneshots for them, maybe another story xD MAD FTP IS MAD.

Layla: The girls in my family are shippable, such a curse *sigh*

Zeref: erm...disclaimer! Characters and story belong to Mashima-san!

* * *

"Natsu..." the dark mages eyes glossed over with hope, what was he thinking? The blonde wanted to desperately know, was he on her side, or was he evil as the books claim him to be? A soft smile played on his lips as the crimson eyes landed on her face again.

"You look younger..." he mumbled a hand stretching forward towards her visage, she caught it, and squeezed. Shaking her head he let his hand fall by his side again and his smile extended, but never to his eyes.

"I might scare them if I go as myself, so I thought I would...lie," she explained truthfully, what better to warn fairy tail than a face they knew and trusted. Of course to reduce the stress on her magic power and the probability of discovery she used a face that was just like her own. Her daughters.

"You mean you might scare _her_," the statement stabbed at Layla's heart. It was the truth after all, the child would be saddened and angry by her mothers sudden return. What of her father that she left to die alone, what of her and the promise she had made long ago that they would always be together.

"I am a coward," she snorted quite elegantly, "I have the strength to face the dragons and try to stop a war but not the courage face my daughter,"

Silence followed as the pair stood close enough to touch and yet to far. Oak met blood-red as their eyes would not part from the others face and a smile finally graced the lips of the woman.

"I must go, I am tiring, and I must find my child and her friends," Layla spoke softly walking towards the entrance of the dungeon that held Lucy and fairy tail, she had faith they would be

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked almost pleadingly, she glanced back and gave a nod. Zeref smiled genuinely his eyes brightening in joy yet before the blonde could register surprise, he was gone into the shadows, "I'll claim those lips then,"

"I hate it when you do that, I hate it when you make me hope, idiot," she whispered pressing a hand onto the door encouraged by the voices behind it and letting it slide open yet she couldn't help but allow a small smile, a shortlived smile that her daughters surprised gaze erased.

* * *

Their features were nearly identical, Lucy's face had lost almost all the childish roundness she remembered, her lips were full and pink, her eyes were round but mature the childih twinkle replaced by a confused yet youthful warmth, irises a chocolate-brown like her own, the only difference was thei hair, Layla's had always had the habit to curl at the tips, Lucy's went straight to cover her shoulders. She had let it grow, it suited her. She was very tall as well, perhaps just a few inches shorter than her real height? The last time she saw her girl Lucy barely made it to her knees. Layla felt miserable, she wanted to cry and so she directed her gaze to her friends. The takeover mage Mirajane, the celestial mage Yukino, the spirit Leo supporting the white knight whom she softly glared at. And of course the daughter of Grandine, Wendy and the exceeds. This all took a second as she looked down to the man at her feet. The older blonde had seen how her daughter looked at him, she was glad this boy held Lucy's heart, he was Igneels, he would cherish it.

Pink hair, a calculating gaze and a question that left his lips. She couldn't help but let her emotions get the better of her, her tears descended and her sobs echoed in the cave, "Lend me your strenght,"

Her hand wiped the liquid from her eyes as she mumbled apologies both for her lies and for her emotional instability, the widening eyes as she uncovered her face almost made her laugh it the situation wasn't so desperate, maybe, just maybe she would have. Her gaze always returned to Lucy's as she explained, every time the confused and what seemed to be hurt in the childs eyes made her look away. They all seemed unconvinced, her daughter had always been sharp though, would she really be able to hide her true self? Maybe the fact she was 'dead' would not be as helpful as she thought it would be.

Thoughts whirled round her mind as fairy tail took in her story, she felt so tired, and unhappy. Layla wanted just scream, tell Lucy the truth, hold her like she used to, kiss her good night and tell her stories. Why did they have to ruin everything? Why didn't she refuse to help them when she knew Lucy needed her mother more? Or was she just fooling herself. The ground seemed to be coming closer towards her as she bore her sight into it. Oh, she was falling, makes sense.

She welcomed the darkness, the last thing she remembered was a strong hold that lifted her onto something warm and a hand strangely close to her bottom. '_This is so Igneels kid..._' she thought as she looked upwards glancing a tuft of red, and she let herself rest. It had been to long since the dragon priestess had felt safe to do so.

* * *

"Lucy?" Mira shock the blond whose eyes remained fixed on the unconcious figure carried by Natsu.

"Why me? This is creepy..." she mumbled again and again before grinning reassuringly at Mira, a tired and out of it grin which prompted the model to place a hand on the girls blond crown and bringing her close. The warmth of her friend gave courage to the celestial mage and she thanked the white haired mage.

"She sounds like you, albeit more mature," Yukino supplied making Lucy reply sarcastically with a 'Why thank you' and a gentle flick of her nose.

"She smells like you, but there's something off, she smells like that guy from tenrou as well, different though," Natsu said gaining the presents attention. No one spoke but they all knew he meant Zeref, which made Lucy even more fearful.

"She's certainly as a beauty, I always knew you would grow splendidly Lucy~" Leo sang earning a glare from the dragon slayer which seemed to intensify as he got closer to the concious blond.

"It's still wierd, I'd recognize Lucy's scent, why didn't i notice immediately," Natsu grumbled making the blonde blush especially with the smirks the girls were giving her.

"W-what do you mean Natsu?" she asked trying to ignore the teasing nudges coming to attack her sides.

"It's like she's you but not you, like you're from her or something, I don't know how to explain..." the dragon slayer provided and to his surprise the blonde nodded.

"I get it, for some reason, this person I don't believe she's me, but I think she's trustworthy, just, there's something off in her words," Lucy continued for him smiling at the figure and closing in on the pair to reach out for her hand, her right hand was covered and she couldn't see it but her left hand was warm as she grasped it. Something tickled her cheek and the celestial mage caught the wet substance in her hand letting go of her supposed future self.

_'A tear?'_

"AWWW you're s in sync how cute~" Mira jumped at her squishing the blond in a friendly hug making her forget her sudden reverie. Why was that warmth so familiar anyway?

"M-mira you're hurting me! I can't breath!" Lucy protested in vain as they gruop laughed it off on their way out.

* * *

FTP: here we go Review responses

Thank you to dragonking, TenraiTsukiyomi, Prusyah, LovesDragonsForever, Hinagiku Zeelmart, jizang, chiruchiru-chan and guests. and to the guest that told me Layla is dead, I know, just i doubt it at this point in the story to be honest, she might pull a Lisanna or maybe not but in this fic I'm writing what I feel so it doesn't really matter if its canon or not. It's a fanfic after all. Enjoy the story =)

Layla: Thank you for reading, please tell us your thought by typing them in the box below, your feedback is appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2: Awakening

**Chapter 3: Awakening  
**

**FTP: Hello everyone, and here's chapter three, I left the events coinciding and pretty much a what if the lie was that future Lucy is actually layla?So the forehead scene and such (squeeee) is included and after I diverge to my own story. Thanks for reviewing to sereneskydragonslayer and wildanimelover. I will continue this story to the end.  
**

**Layla: FTO owns only the fanfic plot the rest belongs to mashima-sensei!  
**

* * *

_The breeze lifted her blond locks behind her body and made her shiver in the delight of being in the outside world. Lifting her arms upward her palms directed towards the sky she allowed herself to sing about her joy._

_"Welcome family, my heart, my soul and life...lalalalala," she began before continuing in a wordless symphony, she had never been much interested in words anyway. All that had to be done was give her voice to this world she adored and the inhabitants she could not live without. The trees, the wind and even the animals seemed to join the young girl around her as they rustled into life. The young girl passed a hand by her hair as she turned having sensed the presence of her friend._

_The man frowned, noting the girl was dressed in her priestess outfit, a red dress that covered her right shoulder and continued over her well blossomed bust, sixteen years old and yet she could already be called a woman. The many responsibilities that she shouldered made sure to cut her childhood short._

_"You didn't need to stop because of me," he muttered in his low tone returning to his usual meagre expressions, yet this man was a very powerful individual and her peer which made many older mages jealous. He was after all the genius wizard of the year x384*._

_"How can I talk to you if I'm singing? D-did mother send you?" the smile that had formed was quickly replaced by a look of contempt._

_"Layla, give your mother a chance, she only wants you to be strong so you can take care of herself,' red eyes met indignant chocolate brown and the boy was immediately silenced by the stare. His cheeks flared and he looked away a hand scratching at his short black hair._

_"I need a mother not a mentor, Zeref," she spat before sighing, "I have to sing again today, as a priestess,"_

_"I know you're doing splendidly, Igneel and I saw your first performance yesterday, they call you the dragon priestess already," he smiled sincerely almost taking the breath away from the girl, he would only ever smile like that for her._

_"I'd be honored if I'm chosen!" Layla laughed wondering if she was capable of appeasing the dragons. Grabbing the hand of her friend she ran towards the city, it was surrounded by an impenetrable wall. You could only force you way in by flight. The girl wondered what her future would be like, would she ever really meet a dragon and if so could she find the courage to tell him the truth about herself?_

* * *

The scene froom her memory changed leaving her too look up at chandeliers of the castle's dining hall. Slowly getting up to a sitting position the woman was met by the awed expression of fairy tail. Layla couldn't even look her daughter in the eyes, after all a lot of what she had said to the man Jellal as she impersonated her daughter and what she was about to reveal to fairy tail, the white knight and the celestial mage Aguria was actually merely a twisted version of the truth.

Yet the son of Igneel would easily believe her just for being Lucy. She even broke into a small smile, a true smile, when she was scolded by the girl. What would Jude say if he was here? Ah, but this had nothing to do with her late husband, although it was probably time to tell Lucy the truth about him. When she revealed herself for whom she was, Layla would have to spill the beans about her and Zeref to Lucy and about her papa as well.

The warmth that overcame her as their forehead touched reminded her of the gentle soul that the fire dragon had been to her. Tears of loneliness, the joy of the moment and the accumulation of so many emotions flooded her eyes. And of loss, she watched as her daughter averted her eyes, smiling and blushing at the scene.

_'So her heart already belongs to this man?'_ the older blonde determined, '_This makes everything more complicated, I'm sorry Lucy, you and Natsu will have to be apart for a time,'_

Blinking them back before her resolve could crumble she suggested to meet with crime Sorciere. The castle was not a safe place, the dragons, the presence of eclipse and the return of Zeref could only bring trouble.

"Come with me," Layla murmured as she took the group as far away from eclipse as she could. The ability of absorbance the gate had was something that could cause their defeat. The group moved rapidly across halls and corridors without encountering anybody.

"i studied the castle well before returning from the future," Layla supplied half truthfully, it was true she knew this castle well enough but for entirely different reasons.

Oh how this place had changed, in the four hundred years or so she had slumbered, her memory wiped clean and her body had remained that of a sixteen years old. When she was was woken up by Jude's parents, finding her sleeping form inside the ruins of her birthplace, his family had given her a home and she had given up her keys whom had never left her side to the new friends she had made and trusted knowing the child that was to come, if the path of magic was chosen, would be in safe hands with those spirits. In time she had learned to live with her broken memory and a beautiful young daughter was born, that was when the memories started returning. The nightmares started plaguing her and soon even Lucy would wake up in the morning crying and terrified, only the when the mother would rock her back to sleep and remain by her side would she feel safe.

Lucy grew up into a healthy young child, and seven days after her tenth birthday, the memories that Layla had longed to recover, that had been longed placed on a shelf and forgotten returned all at once. On the 7th July x777, the last day of the Grand magic games festival she had been participating in, the day Zeref had entered her life once more. And this castle which was once her surrogate home as a dragon priestess.

* * *

Zeref watched as the sun began to fall. Titania was busy with the Lady of Sabertooth, he had never thought he could feel such malevolence in magic but his own. Gajeel was facing Rogue who was emitting an eerily familiar aura. Yet his mind clung to the ray of light inside the castle making her way to the dungeons. Next to that familiar magic very like his own was one that was almost twin to the womans. Whose was it? Who could hold magic so much like Layla's?

The woman had mentioned a daughter, with that man Jude. His fist tightened around his cloak at the thought someone else had touched Layla. Yet that man had brought happiness to both girls. The child's magic was similar to what he had felt at tenrou island, a distinct signature that had always been close to natsu whenever he tried feeling for it. At the time he had not noticed the similarities between the women magic power, perhaps because the child had yet to fully develop, she was not even using half of her capabilities, and the same applied to the dragon slayers.

Funny how they seemed to always miss each other, he had not even once glanced at the girl. If her magical feel was so similar to her mother, she must also look like her. It would make sense. He smiled softly, the smile almost reaching his eyes, there was already affection in his heart for the girl even though they had yet to meet. His heart that had stopped beating for the past four hundred years as he traveled alone the people he loved dead, by his hand no more or slumbering.

"Acnologia, Igneel, Metallicana, and Grandine, the dragons, Layla and Lucy, the dragon priestess and possible heir, the dragon slayers, Natsu, the only one who could kill me, Gajeel and Wendy, his companions and the young Sting and Rogue," Zeref murmured as he slid back into the castle, "Last but not least the dark wizard zeref, and the gate of darkness Eclipse, how could ten thousand dragons not be awakened to this manifestation,"

It almost felt like it was that first 7th July all over again, when he had allowed Acnologia to be born. had it really been four hundred years?

"Let the festival begin...,"

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*this is 400 years prior the start of FT.

See you next chapter =D


	4. Chapter 3: Brave

**Chapter four: Brave**

Zeref had always liked to watch magic, it was something simple that he, Layla and their best buds had invented to watch over their town and later on their guildmasterhad adopted it in her strategies. He wondered, looking up lazily at the night sky from roof of one of the castle towers, if the woman was doing well. Last time he saw her she was an angry spirit, well, angry at him but he couldn't blame her. Layla had taken it well enough and he was happy she had let him be so close to her. She was the only one he couldn't help but yearn for and over the years he had made it a point to visit. Sometimes the blonde mage knew and she either chose to meet him in the gardens of her estate or she ignore him, most of the times he would make sure she nerever found out he was there. Something bothered him at the back of his mind and the dark mage mumbled a word to himself, "Innocence...?"

The man shot up eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise as he laughed at the woman's foolishness. He couldn't blame her, he too yearned to save all those he loved, he had failed, almost, there were still others left to protect. And Layla was one of them, and he knew her very well for he had fallen for her. The eyes were too young, too hopeful and too innocent for Layla who was so much more than that after these four hundred years. She was an authority, the dragon priestess, not a child and yet the body she talked to him with, that was a child's body.

"What are you doing, dark beauty? That's forbidden," he whispered to her even though she would not hear him. A surge of magic confirmed he had been right. At the moment on the eve of yet another 7th July he could feel three auras of magic which were almost identical. One was small and dormant which he knew was Layla, another was jovial, jittery in the frenzy of the event which made it fearful but stern in it's youthful hope, and yet another which was the exact mixture of both.

Rising to his feet he did not waste a second running till his lungs began aching for more oxygen to deliver to his muscles as they were pushed past their limit.

"_I need to wake her before he notices,'_ was his only thought as he crushed to the window in the room that held the only living person he now still held dear.

* * *

The soldiers had completely surrounded them, more and more kept coming and Layla knew in the corner of her subconscious that something was wrong. Fairy tail had prevailed in strength but the sheer number of the army was taking its toll on the mages. Moreover the Yukino child had vanished and this was not good, she needed to get to the gate fast! And crime sorciere was required for that plan. Perhaps it was the dark presence she felt gaining ground on them or perhaps it was fear, her body seemed to respond sluggishly to her orders almost as if it was unprepared for anything to be done. Yet it escaped her what it was that shot fear through her bones making her shiver.

_'I can't go back now,'_ she thought as the something seemed to pull at her.

And then it hit her, she needed to get this body to the gate. However it was too late, the man looked at her as Layla was heaved out of the body. Cold eyes that would do anything, she had seen such eyes only on another one in all her life and it was an enemy many cowered before and succumbed to.

"Acn-" she began but warmth had called her back to the safety of her origin and the woman knew it had doomed her child.

* * *

"NO," she screamed her chest moving up followed by her head. Layla felt a cold presence on her chest but she couldn't look at him yet instead she glared at the ceiling until all her thoughts connected.

Layla had arrived at Crocus on the first day having been monitoring the games for the past seven years in hope to meet with Zeref. Funnily enough as she evaded the fairy tail mages and her daughter on a their way to the pub as they decided to party, the impossible occurred, she bumped into Lucy. Lucy from the future, she had just shortly arrived and both celestial mages could not believe her eyes. Layla refused to answer any of the girls questions and soon the girl found herself telling the mother of the horror the 7th July would bring. It brought back bitter memories for the mother who decided to help. And by help she meant take over the girls body, Lucy still not believing in herself reluctantly agreed. Now the girl probably did not remember their encounter, the side effect of separation after all was the 'victims' memories being revised.

"Acnologia is there with them, what did you do!" she roared pushing the man flat on his back on the bed she had 'borrowed'. The castle guards had not even blinked an eye at the supposed delivery and let them in, future Lucy had expertly found this room saying it had been her hiding place. One of the only rooms to remain intact for the attack. When a horde of thousands of dragons would bring the end of Crocus.

"You were always shit at transformation magic," he murmured looking anywhere but at her.

"You...!" the celestial mage began raising her voice, "That wasn't Acnologia was it?"

"i do not know who it was, but Layla you understand that two Lucy's cannot be in the same timeline,"

"So he really?" the woman mumbled grabbing her skirt, in four hundred years her dragon priestess uniform was still the most comfortable garb he had seen her in. He remembered the smiling girl in a flowing skirt that reached just below her ankle, her top matching top which she always complained was more of a swimsuit top. Later the elders would comply and provide the grass green vest she was currently wearing. Like him she had not aged, although their bodies were more adult like now seemingly eighteen it had taken it many years to age like so. Or at least that was what Layla told him, but something always felt off to him. He had only managed to find the girl around forty years ago and she always responded that she was like him. Zeref knew his magic would not effect her, she had always been his opposite and as such her own magic nullified his. Yet with his eclipse here and Layla's familiarity worth the thing he was beginning to understand that maybe she had not trusted him.

'Good,' he thought knowing the woman had heeded his warnings about the darkness in him. Yet he wanted to understand the loneliness in her eyes and bring peace in her soul. How could he? Someone as dark as him had no right to her, a star in the darkest of nights.

"Yes, he wants to kill one of them, but why he feels so much like that man," Zeref shook his head in dismay as the woman let him up in sitting position. He couldn't help but gibe the tiniest of smiles when she did not let go of his arms, her fingers squashing the fabric of his sleeves.

"No two of the same, but I had to Zeref she's my-" her voice broke but he placed his hand o her cheek keeping her face from turning away. She did not flinch nor move away or attempt to slap it away.

"No Layla, she's of her timelines Layla," he murmured unaffected by her glare, "I understand you had to try,"

The pair did not move from the room, and for the first time in many years Layla allowed him to cradle her against him, she rubbed his cold hands muttering through silent tears that he was a 'silly tart'. Staying out in the chilly dawn was always a bad habit of his. It felt good though and it was enough to keep her from crumbling as the three similar auras became two and a fiery fire resonated throughout the castle.

"She did what she came to do, that's enough, my wife," he comforted in his own way. It felt wrong on his tongue like some part of him had vanished with the girl, and he even felt the wet trail of a tear even though he did not understand.

"No, Zeref, living, that's what she was supposed to do...my love," she corrected him once again and it felt like the old days. When they were a newly wed couple and the days to come were a joy to both.

The beauty's thumb gently wiped away the tear as his caressed her away and she mused at the thought that she should try again, to tell him the truth. About her, how she actually came to this time, how the dragon parents and children had followed. How she had not come alone.

* * *

FTP: finally updated, sorry folks for the wait and enjoy. It will be confusing for now but answer will come later. You can call this the crackship tease chapter with the introduction of many many questions. I might have implied something big at the end but hey yeah i got nothing. I just like big. Also I hd to have future Lucy because her death was too much so I invented this magic of possession. It's a gray magic type where consense is what can make it black or white metaphorically.

Also Jude, i love you, you're Lucy's papa who was there and you'll get the spotlight but I'm sorry for braking your ship in my fanfic xD Not very but...

I shall respond to reviews in the next chapter as I'm busy busy busy. Update might not be till summer as exams are round the corner. GOMEN.


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